By Ilina If there's one thing in my life that's telling and appropriate, it's that I married a man from Wisconsin. America's Dairyland! Home of the Mars Cheese Castle! I love me some cheese. There's one ad that is more truthful than all others - the one that proclaims cheese makes everything better. I got to take a little field trip to the Hillsborough Cheese Company. It was quite an honor because this is not a factory kind of place where the general public can don a hair net and wander in. The boutique creamery operates on a small family... Continue reading

When we are young we think, and feel, that we are invincible. We see suffering as a distant reality in someone else's world. Few of us experience deep seated suffering, or if we do, we digest it differently. We are... Continue reading

It's no secret that I have made many a barb at the burbs. What I really loathe is urban sprawl that taxes our infrastructure and increases our dependency on cars. Strip malls line the landscape here, and it's a rudely... Continue reading

I think I might officially be "a woman of a certain age." Two icons of my youth have died. On the same day. I don't even know how to assess this. I now understand what denial means. I can't really believe it to be true. I suppose the daze I'm in is similar to how my parents felt when John Len...

I think I might officially be "a woman of a certain age." Two icons of my youth have died. On the same day. I don't even know how to assess this. I now understand what denial means. I can't really believe it to be true. I suppose the daze I'm in is similar to how my parents felt when John Len...

I love this kind of candor. You have a lifetime mommy club card in my book. I feel this same way time to time. And truth be told, I'm often not that likable a lot of the time. That's what unconditional love is all about, right?

I love my children. All three of them. I love their soft pink smell and their cute little toes. I love their sponge-like brains and their quirky need to line things up or have socks pulled down. I love the fact that I grew them in my body for nine months and had the pleasure of keeping the...

I am the only woman in a house full of dirt and noise. We don't have tea parties or wile away the hours quietly coloring. There's not a Disney princess to be found here. Once in a while we make construction paper party hats and have a birthday party for Teddy. We do our share of art projects;...

Legos in a bin with no kit?! I need a Lego store. We'll have to bring an extra suitcase when we take the boys to Legoland this summer.
And by the way, I was bbuilding Legos with my 3 year old tonight, and my dad commented that I looked like I was having more fun. Love the Legos!

I am the only woman in a house full of dirt and noise. We don't have tea parties or wile away the hours quietly coloring. There's not a Disney princess to be found here. Once in a while we make construction paper party hats and have a birthday party for Teddy. We do our share of art projects;...

I went to school with bruises on my arms. Bruises in the shape of his hand. His fingerprints left on my scrawny arms in the form of ghastly purple islands. The sour taste of my own blood seeping from a lip bashed into the door jamb. I begrudgingly played field hockey and lacrosse just to have ...

I went to school with bruises on my arms. Bruises in the shape of his hand. His fingerprints left on my scrawny arms in the form of ghastly purple islands. The sour taste of my own blood seeping from a lip bashed into the door jamb. I begrudgingly played field hockey and lacrosse just to have ...

I went to school with bruises on my arms. Bruises in the shape of his hand. His fingerprints left on my scrawny arms in the form of ghastly purple islands. The sour taste of my own blood seeping from a lip bashed into the door jamb. I begrudgingly played field hockey and lacrosse just to have ...

I went to school with bruises on my arms. Bruises in the shape of his hand. His fingerprints left on my scrawny arms in the form of ghastly purple islands. The sour taste of my own blood seeping from a lip bashed into the door jamb. I begrudgingly played field hockey and lacrosse just to have ...

I went to school with bruises on my arms. Bruises in the shape of his hand. His fingerprints left on my scrawny arms in the form of ghastly purple islands. The sour taste of my own blood seeping from a lip bashed into the door jamb. I begrudgingly played field hockey and lacrosse just to have ...

I went to school with bruises on my arms. Bruises in the shape of his hand. His fingerprints left on my scrawny arms in the form of ghastly purple islands. The sour taste of my own blood seeping from a lip bashed into the door jamb. I begrudgingly played field hockey and lacrosse just to have ...

I went to school with bruises on my arms. Bruises in the shape of his hand. His fingerprints left on my scrawny arms in the form of ghastly purple islands. The sour taste of my own blood seeping from a lip bashed into the door jamb. I begrudgingly played field hockey and lacrosse just to have ...

I went to school with bruises on my arms. Bruises in the shape of his hand. His fingerprints left on my scrawny arms in the form of ghastly purple islands. The sour taste of my own blood seeping from a lip bashed into the door jamb. I begrudgingly played field hockey and lacrosse just to have ...

I had the same issues with being over endowed. I too had a reduction. It was the BEST thing I ever did. And thanks to a plastic surgeon who saw beyond my physical pain and became my advocate for two years to get insurance to pay for the whole thing.

It Started with Pop-Tarts, by Lori Hanson explores the journey one woman was forced to take as she searched for alternative ways to fight her battle with bulimia. The story, written almost like a journal, takes the reader from youth through adulthood and the struggles Lori faced as she tried ...

You are fucking right on! I cannot give up the word Fuck in all its many forms. A rare word that is a verb, adjective, noun, suffix, adverb. I don't drop the Fbomb in front of my kids but I say plenty of other things that send chills up the spines of mothers on every plyground I go to. If they're going to get their bloomers in a tizzy over a few words, I say they are lame ass motherfucking platypi. That was a stretch, eh? Oh, I also love the word serendipitous. And sublime.

I 'd like to tell you right off the bat that one of my favorite words is motherfucker. Well, that and platypus. Or, even better, platypi, which I will insist to my dying day is the plural of platypus. If I ever have an opportunity to scream, "Stop that, you motherfucking platypi!" my life will...

Wow, your stories have really humbled me. I could feel such palpable emotion from all of you. It is a shame what we go through, especially from those we think would support us. Motherhood is a tough journey made tougher by those people who are hurtful for reasons unknown. I get strength from knowing women like you are out there. I'm standing up cheering!

I am a 40 year old woman. I have two sons, ages five and three. I spend my days between my office and my sons' schools. I cook three squares a day. I mend the occasional seam and fix buttons when I can find a match. I make homemade Valentines and sew super hero capes for my sons' stuffed anima...

I hear you. I feel guilty too and try to help out others as much as I can. So many people who literally next door to all of us are probably suffering and too ashamed to ask for help. I'm seeing the pinch in the most unlikely families. A wake up call for us all.

I live a good life. Some might say I live THE good life. I have no complaints. Really. Let me just say that my family earns a good living. We have a lovely house, a stable financial life, our health, and each other. Our hardships are luxuries to most. I know this much is true. But I feel the c...

Last I heard, neither Parnell nor Peanut Corporation have been charged with anything. Shameful. The company filed for bankruptcy on Friday. Parnell will rest on his stashed away millions while his plant workers are left jobless.

I had whooping cough last year. Whooping cough. I thought that had been eradicated decades ago. It was a serious illness that took its toll on me for 10 months. My lungs, throat, vocal chords, and overall well being were ravaged to shreds for 10 months. Whooping cough is a highly contagious ...

I would like to echo what you have so bravely and candidly written. But my spin would be about domestic violence and sexual assault. All are tough to battle alone, and it's worthwhile to feel like you are not alone for a change.

You can't go a week in the blogosphere without reading about somebody's recent adventure on Facebook. This is mine. Let me start with some miscellaneous background facts I have been battling serious depression for about a year now. That wouldn't normally be the first fact I'd use to intro...

This so true. One of the things I value most about my relationship with our pediatrician is that he trusts my intuition more than his own clinical exams. He tells me that I know my children better than anyone so if I sense a problem, I'm probably right. I have caught strep more times that way, even when the throat culture is negative.
The other thing about protecting our kids is that we should not be afraid to speak up for fear of hurting someone's feelings. If we sense something icky, we should raise a red flag. These are our children we're talking about here! If we are not their vigilant advocates and protectors, who will be?

The world is a scary place to raise children these days. But mothers have one of the most powerful weapons on protect our kids. The weapon is called Mother's Intuition. Every mother in nature is well-equipped to protect her offspring from danger. Our brains and bodies are wired for it! In t...

The economic downturn doesn't have me worried about my family. I have long been in the habit of spending as little money as possible, and we live beneath our means. While we will be have canceled a couple of trips and put off a new car purchase, I know that we are some of the lucky ones in thi...

Wow, this sounds terrible. Our schedule is much like yours. My son starts kindergarten at 9:00, and my younger son starts preschool at 9:15. They too are great sleepers. I am awakened every morning at 6:30 AM by our neighbor kid who LEAVES FOR THE BUS STOP at that hour...she's in 7th grade. I too remember half day kindergarten with a nap. Nowadays we ALL need a nap.

Yesterday, filled with excitement and joy, I went to the open house at the school my son will be attending next year. It’s a wonderful school and a great community and I am really looking forward to being a part of it for the next 9 years, from Kindergarten through 8th grade. The principal ta...